Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small single stranded RNA virus, that belongs to the Flaviviridae family. HCV can be classified into six major genotypes and more than 50 subtypes.

Šiame darbe nagrinėjamos populiariausios trimačių vaizdų apdorojimo technologijos DirectX ir OpenGL. Buvo atlikta jų apžvalga, pateikti šių technologijų pagrindiniai privalumai ir trūkumai bei atlikta jų lyginamoji analizė. Darbe apžvelgtos populiariausios modernios programavimo kalbos turinčios trimačių vaizdų programavimo galimybęs – C# ir C++. Panaudojant šias kalbas buvo sukurta programinė įranga skirta DirectX ir OpenGL technologijų vaizdų apdorojimo spartos tyrimui. Buvo atliktas didelis skaičius eksperimentų, kurių metu buvo siekiama nustatyti minėtų technologijų spartą vizualizuojant elementarių ir sudėtinių figūrų judesius, bei taikant skirtingą figūrų gilumą. Atlikus eksperimentinius tyrimus Windows aplinkoje buvo nustatyta, kad DirectX technologijos trimačių vaizdų vizualizavimo sparta yra didesnė. Ši savybė trimačių vaizdų vizualizavime kompiuteryje yra svarbiausia ir ypač aktuali kompiuterinių žaidimų kūrime. Greičiausiai DirectX technologija atvaizduoja trimačius vaizdus programuojant juos C# kalba. Be to, ekperimetinių tyrimų metu buvo nustatyta, kad DirectX technologija geriau išnaudoja CPU ir GPU resursus. Taipogi darbe buvo sukurta taikomoji programa – trimatis biliardo žaidimas, panaudojant efektyviausią trimačių vaizdų apdorojimo technologiją DirectX ir programavimo kalbą C#. / Three-dimensional rendering technologies DirectX and OpenGL were reviewed in this work. The comprehensive survey, review of advantages and disadvantages, and comparative analysis of these technologies was done. The most popular modern programmming languages with three-dimensional programming features were reviewed in this work. The software for testing the speed of the DirectX and OpenGL technologies was developed. A lot of experiments were done in order to determinante speed of these technologies. The experiments included vizualization of basic and complex shapes movements, and different depth of the shapes. The experimental investigations were performed in OS Windows and it was determined that the speed of DirectX technology is higher. This fact is the most important in three-dimensional rendering, especially in computer games development. DirectX technology is the fastest while programming in C#. Be to, ekperimetinių tyrimu metu buvo nustatyta, kad DirectX technologija geriau išnaudoja CPU išteklius. The application – three-dimensional biliard game was developed in this work also. DirectX technology was used and It was programmed in C#.

No description available.

The Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) is the oldest and most widely-used IEEE 802.11 contention-based channel access control protocol. DCF adds a significant amount of overhead in the form of preambles, frame headers, randomised binary exponential back-off and inter-frame spaces. Having accurate and verified performance models for DCF is thus integral to understanding the performance of IEEE 802.11 as a whole. In this document DCF performance is measured subject to two different workload models using an IEEE 802.11g test bed. Bianchi proposed the first accurate analytic model for measuring the performance of DCF. The model calculates normalised aggregate throughput as a function of the number of stations contending for channel access. The model also makes a number of assumptions about the system, including saturation conditions (all stations have a fixed-length packet to send at all times), full-connectivity between stations, constant collision probability and perfect channel conditions. Many authors have extended Bianchi's machine model to correct certain inconsistencies with the standard, while very few have considered alternative workload models. Owing to the complexities associated with prototyping, most models are verified against simulations and not experimentally using a test bed. In addition to a saturation model we considered a more realistic workload model representing wireless Internet traffic. Producing a stochastic model for such a workload was a challenging task, as usage patterns change significantly between users and over time. We implemented and compared two Markov Arrival Processes (MAPs) for packet arrivals at each client - a Discrete-time Batch Markovian Arrival Process (D-BMAP) and a modified Hierarchical Markov Modulated Poisson Process (H-MMPP). Both models had parameters drawn from the same wireless trace data. It was found that, while the latter model exhibits better Long Range Dependency at the network level, the former represented traces more accurately at the client-level, which made it more appropriate for the test bed experiments. A nine station IEEE 802.11 test bed was constructed to measure the real world performance of the DCF protocol experimentally. The stations used IEEE 802.11g cards based on the Atheros AR5212 chipset and ran a custom Linux distribution. The test bed was moved to a remote location where there was no measured risk of interference from neighbouring radio transmitters in the same band. The DCF machine model was fixed and normalised aggregate throughput was measured for one through to eight contending stations, subject to (i) saturation with fixed packet length equal to 1000 bytes, and (ii) the D-BMAP workload model for wireless Internet traffic. Control messages were forwarded on a separate wired backbone network so that they did not interfere with the experiments. Analytic solver software was written to calculate numerical solutions for thee popular analytic models for DCF and compared the solutions to the saturation test bed experiments. Although the normalised aggregate throughput trends were the same, it was found that as the number of contending stations increases, so the measured aggregate DCF performance diverged from all three analytic model's predictions; for every station added to the network normalised aggregate throughput was measured lower than analytically predicted. We conclude that some property of the test bed was not captured by the simulation software used to verify the analytic models. The D-BMAP experiments yielded a significantly lower normalised aggregate throughput than the saturation experiments, which is a clear result of channel underutilisation. Although this is a simple result, it highlights the importance of the traffic model on network performance. Normalised aggregate throughput appeared to scale more linearly when compared to the RTS/CTS access mechanism, but no firm conclusion could be drawn at 95% confidence. We conclude further that, although normalised aggregate throughput is appropriate for describing overall channel utilisation in the steady state, jitter, response time and error rate are more important performance metrics in the case of bursty traffic.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and a major economic burden in the developed and developing world. Many heart diseases, including post-myocardial infarction, include a fibrotic component with remodeling of the extracellular matrix in the myocardium. Cardiac myofibroblasts are non-myocyte cells derived from relatively quiescent fibroblasts and are the main mediators of collagen remodeling in disease states. TGF-β is recognized as an important contributor to adverse cardiac remodeling in heart disease. In this study we have investigated the role of c-Ski, which is an endogenous TGF-β inhibitor, in controlling/regulating myofibroblast function and phenotype. We have developed an adenoviral overexpression system to study these endpoints using Western blot, immunofluorescence, MTT assay, flow cytometry, procollagen type I amino terminal peptide secretion and qPCR analysis. We observed that the 95 kDa c-Ski form is overexpressed upon virus infection with adenovirus encoding c-Ski and this form of c-Ski is localized to the nucleus. c-Ski expression inhibited cardiac myofibroblast collagen synthesis and secretion as well as contractility. Phosphorylation and translocation of Smad2 into the nucleus was not affected in the presence of c-Ski overexpression. We found that c-Ski overexpression was associated with diminution of the myofibroblastic phenotype with reduced α-smooth muscle actin and extra domain-A fibronectin expression (but not non-muscle myosin heavy chain B expression). c-Ski may reduce cell viability via the induction of apoptosis. Finally, we have elucidated a putative mechanism for c-Ski-mediated reduction of myofibroblast phenotype through the upregulation of the homeodomain protein Meox2. Adenoviral overexpression of Meox2 was associated with a significant reduction of α-smooth muscle actin and extra domain-A fibronectin expression in a similar manner to that of c-Ski overexpression. Thus we have identified c-Ski as being an antifibrotic protein as well as a novel mechanism for modulation of cardiac myofibroblast phenotype, possibly through the induction of Meox2 expression.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and a major economic burden in the developed and developing world. Many heart diseases, including post-myocardial infarction, include a fibrotic component with remodeling of the extracellular matrix in the myocardium. Cardiac myofibroblasts are non-myocyte cells derived from relatively quiescent fibroblasts and are the main mediators of collagen remodeling in disease states. TGF-β is recognized as an important contributor to adverse cardiac remodeling in heart disease. In this study we have investigated the role of c-Ski, which is an endogenous TGF-β inhibitor, in controlling/regulating myofibroblast function and phenotype. We have developed an adenoviral overexpression system to study these endpoints using Western blot, immunofluorescence, MTT assay, flow cytometry, procollagen type I amino terminal peptide secretion and qPCR analysis. We observed that the 95 kDa c-Ski form is overexpressed upon virus infection with adenovirus encoding c-Ski and this form of c-Ski is localized to the nucleus. c-Ski expression inhibited cardiac myofibroblast collagen synthesis and secretion as well as contractility. Phosphorylation and translocation of Smad2 into the nucleus was not affected in the presence of c-Ski overexpression. We found that c-Ski overexpression was associated with diminution of the myofibroblastic phenotype with reduced α-smooth muscle actin and extra domain-A fibronectin expression (but not non-muscle myosin heavy chain B expression). c-Ski may reduce cell viability via the induction of apoptosis. Finally, we have elucidated a putative mechanism for c-Ski-mediated reduction of myofibroblast phenotype through the upregulation of the homeodomain protein Meox2. Adenoviral overexpression of Meox2 was associated with a significant reduction of α-smooth muscle actin and extra domain-A fibronectin expression in a similar manner to that of c-Ski overexpression. Thus we have identified c-Ski as being an antifibrotic protein as well as a novel mechanism for modulation of cardiac myofibroblast phenotype, possibly through the induction of Meox2 expression.

This research explores the lived experiences of what it means to women when they receive a diagnosis of Hepatitis C (HCV). The approach to guide the conversations is hermeneutic phenomenology. Phenomenological text can have the effect of making one suddenly “see” something in a way that enriches one’s everyday understanding of women’s lived experiences (van Manen, 1997a). The intent is to share the lived experience knowledge, embedded in stories women have shared, with nurses and health care professionals. The hope is that, through these stories, health-care providers will develop insights and understanding which informs compassionate and sensitive care for women who have HCV. This study involved in-depth tape recorded conversations with nine women who have been diagnosed with HCV. The transcribed conversations were analyzed following the steps of a nursing Gadamerian based research method (Fleming, Gaidys & Robb, 2003). Analysis of the conversations occurred with the hermeneutic rule of movement from the whole to the part and back to the whole (Gadamer cited in Fleming et. al). Each of the participant’s stories are described followed by identification of shared experiences giving insight into the phenomena of receiving a diagnosis and living with HCV. Women described: shock and disbelief, a need for information on how to take care of themselves, feeling they were treated like garbage, wondering how they could tell anyone they have this illness, receiving this diagnosis during a hugely fragile time, fears of infecting others, and concerns about being a mom with HCV. They relived past traumas of how they became infected by the virus. / Graduate

La tesis doctoral es el resultado de la investigación llevada a cabo en relación a toda una serie de sentencias del Tribunal Supremo, de los Tribunales Superiores de Justicia y de los tribunales de las Audiencias Provinciales que han utilizado en sus resoluciones los Principios de Derecho Europeo de Contratos (PECL), que, como se sabe, es un texto articulado de reglas con vocación de servir para la armonización y unificación del Derecho de obligaciones y contratos en los Estados miembros de la UE, pero sin fuerza vinculante alguna, por cuanto que no es fuente de nuestro ordenamiento jurídico. El método de trabajo en esta investigación ha consistido en comparar la doctrina legal y jurisprudencial tradicional de la materia en cuestión, con las enseñanzas y con la interpretación actual dada por estas sentencias a la luz de la utilización y aplicación de estos Principios en sus argumentos, comprobando si realmente ofrecen un punto de partida para un cambio de sentido de la doctrina tradicional, o más bien sirven de refuerzo de sus argumentos tradicionales. Las materias sobre las que, hasta la fecha, han tratado los Tribunales españoles se comprenden en prácticamente todos los capítulos de los PECL: sobre el capítulo de disposiciones generales se ha tratado del principio de la buena fe, de la definición del término “razonable”; también de los capítulos relativos a la formación del contrato, a la representación, a la validez del contrato, interpretación, contenido y efectos, cumplimiento, incumplimiento resolutorio y remedios generales y específicos, fuentes de las obligaciones solidarias, la compensación… El estudio de nuestra investigación no podía abarcar todas las materias, por lo que nos hemos centrado en dos de especial interés y actualidad: el cambio de circunstancias en los efectos del contrato (art. 6:111) –cláusula rebus sic stantibus- y el incumplimiento resolutorio y remedios generales y específicos (cap. 8 y 9). El resto de materias nos hemos limitado a reseñarlas y exponer lo que sobre las mismas argumentan los tribunales, con un breve análisis de compatibilidad con nuestro ordenamiento jurídico. La conclusión final resultante es que, por ahora, después de haber utilizado ya reglas de todos sus capítulos, lo que se viene confirmando es que con uso de otros principios de nuestro propio ordenamiento jurídico ya se estaban consiguiendo esas nuevas tendencias doctrinales que el propio Tribunal Supremo califica de modernas. / The doctoral thesis is the result of research carried out in relation to a series of Supreme Court decisions of the High Courts of Justice and the courts of the Provincial Courts have used in its resolutions the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL), which, as is known, is an articulated rules text with spirit of service to the harmonization and unification of the law of obligations and contracts in the Member States of the EU, but without any binding force, in that no is the source of our legal system. The working method in this research has been to compare the traditional legal and jurisprudential doctrine of subject matter, with the teachings and the current interpretation of these statements in light of the use and application of these principles in their arguments, checking whether they actually provide a starting point for a reversal of the traditional doctrine, or rather serves to assist their traditional arguments. The matters on which they have, so far, treated the Spanish Courts understood in virtually all chapters of the PECL: on the general provisions chapter has dealt with the principle of good faith and fair dealing, the reasonableness, also the chapters on contract formation, conflict of interest in the representation, the validity of the contract, interpretation, contents and effects, place of performance of a contractual obligation, non-performance and remedies in general and particular remedies, when solidary obligations arise, set-off… The study of our research could not cover all the matters, so we focused on two of special interest and relevance: the change of circumstances on the effects of the contract (art. 6:111) –clause rebus sic stantibus- and non-performance obligation and general and specific remedies (ch. 8 and 9). All other matters we’ve just review them and expose what about them argue the Courts, with a brief discussion of our legal system compatibility. The resulting final conclusion is that, for now, having already used rules all its chapters, which has been confirmed is that with use of other principles of our own legal system were already getting these new doctrinal trends that the Court itself modern Supreme qualify.

Basic properties of pure functionals of a <I>C</I>^*-algebra are reviewed, and this is followed by an investigation of equivalent representations of a pure functional, restriction to ideals, and extension to bigger <I>C</I>^*-algebras. The relationship between notions of regularity for points in the spectrum of a <I>C</I>^*-algebra is studied. A localised version of Fell-Dixmier conditions for continuous trace of a <I>C</I>^*-algebra is obtained. The weak^*-closure of the space of pure functionals of arbitrary and homogeneous <I>C</I>^*-algebras is investigated. An analogue of Glimm's Vector State Space Theorem is proved. It is shown that G(A) = A^*₁ if and only if <I>A</I> is prime and antiliminal. Some results about the limits of pure functionals of an arbitrary <I>C^*-</I>algebra are obtained.